Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1887-01-25
THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

members of the society and friends, met at
the Historical rooms last evening to listen to
Mr.. M M. Covers reading on the Sandwich
Islands; their volcanoes, earthquakes and
tidal waves, etc. Mr.. Cover was for sixteen
dren were born there. His eldest daughter
is now there. In the absence of Professor S.
E. Baldwin, the president, Mr.. Thomas r.
Trowbridge, jr., the secretary, called the
meeting to order and Judge Francis Wayland
by request presided. The curator also read
list of additions to the library since the last
meeting, some twelve volumes and pamph-
let's.
The paper read was a continuation of
the paper read by Mr.. Cover November 29th
in which the perils of long and stormy sea
voyage from Boston to San Francisco in the
clipper ship Polynesia were told.
The first paper ended with the anchoIing OF
the ship off North Point dock in San Francis
co, March 20, 1859, after an unusually long
passage of one hundred and ffty-seven days
10 preserve the connection the speaker
| touched briefly on the events and observa-
| tions of the four weeks passed in San Fran.
| cisco while the ship discharged her cargo
had a new mainmast put in place of one that
was twisted in the terrible gale in the Gull
| Stream.
| The agreeable change from long contin.
ued diet of "salt horse and hard tack" re-
| freshed them, the faces of friends old and
new cheered them, and they found "Frisco" q
wonderfully pleasant place to visit. The
wonders wrought in the condition of society
| by the sharp work of the vigilance commit
| tee of 1856 were spoken of and the rapid
growth of the city, only ten years old, was
touched upon and its condition
also contrasted with its present
wealth and commercial Importance. But the
time was quickly at hand when the good ship
was ready to sail for Honolulu and instead of
the 1.-TWO passengers and the cat" who
''came the Horn around' eleven passengers
answered to the roll call soon as their
stomachs were settled. The only incident
that marred the pleasure of the trip was the
loss of poor fellow overheard when theywere
running eleven knots free and all efforts to
save him were vain.
Thirteen days was not quick passage at
that season of the year, but better than the
average and in spite of two or three days of
very light winds, on Thursday, May 5, the
eyes of all hands are cheered by the sight of
the mountains of East and West Mani right
ahead. We are about to say goodbye" to
the old. Poly having endeavored to obey the
sailors injunction to ''eat hearty and give
the ship good name"
The tourists were fortunate in reaching the
islands in time to visit one of the most &C
commo6ating, least destructive and easily
reached steams of flowing lava that Mauna
Loa ever poured out. Those of our fellow
passengers who, like myself, went at once to
Hawaiis western coast saw a river of fire go
miles long, aud varying in width from few
rods to a half mile. This stream of fire is
sued from near the top of Mauna Loa, and
for some days was a spouting volcano or
fountain of fire, but at this time was just
overlooking the rim of the crater and send
ing second flow of smooth lava to cover up
in some places the first rough mass of scoria
that reached the sea and destroyed the ham
let of Wainanalii and part of the grove of
cocoanut trees growing there. The second
stream was within five or six miles of the
sea and we reached it from where we tied up
our boat by laborious climbing over the piled
up scoria of the first stream which showed
signs of warmth by the hot steam that came
up through the mass. On reaching the liv
ing stream of fire we found it crawling slow
ly over a nearly level tract of country having
passed to one side of the former flow. In all
this walk or Chamber our native guide had
been behind most of the time and compared
our movements to those of birds. A native or
half-caste friend was camping at a safe dis
lance from the flow with his whole family
and scarcely blamed him for grudging us a
drop of his scanty supply Of water contained
in gourds that smelled villainously. We play
ed with the fiery lava at this point with
safety, for it was only crawling over
the ground licking up the grass and shrub
berry in it's course. A few miles up the
mountain we saw the whole stream pouring
over precipice in a beautiful cataract of
fire. Nearly the whole extent of the flow
from the crater to where we stood was Wis
ible and the darkness of the night showed it
in all it's glory. More visitors saw this flow
in all its extent and eamped days and nights
alongside its track than ever visited any of
the others, except the last flow of 1881 which
came 30 near to Hilo.
The eruption of 1858, in which was even
more interested than the others, was from
the southern slope of Hawaii about half way
to the sea. 1t preceded by over two
thousand distinct shocks of earthquakes, all
in two weeks, and accompanied by the most
disastrous tidal wave that ever visited these
islands. The coast for twenty miles along
the south shore of Hawaii seemed to sink
and rise alternately. The sea rolled in and
wiped out several fishing villages and de-
stroyed nearly hundred lives.
Many more would have persisted but for
their being strong swimmers, and not a
few escaped after being carried far out to
sea and brought back the returning
waves. A native friend of mine saw the
first great wave rolling in and started with
his family over the rough jagged rocks to-
wards the mountain. Thinking to save
little money that was hidden in his house he
turned backward fer it and was caught in
the wave which swept his frail house from
the barren rocks on which it was built. Now
his skill as a strong swimmer was tested and
the fight for life began. bit of board was
wrenched from part of the wreck of his
house and this helped him in the long hours
when he was carried far inland over the old
lava flows, which for miles formed
that coast, and with the receding
waves was taken out to sea again
and again, but when he was in less danger
even from the sharks than from destruction
when the incoming waves took over the
rocks. The sight of this eruption was one
never to be forgotten. A fountain of liquid
lava blood-red spouted in the air hundreds
of feet, at times making continuous foun-
tain more than mile long and at other
times rising in one, two, three, or four single
columns of fiery wrath. After burning its
way through miles of fern jingles it over
flowed a vast tract of pine pasture land,
blotted out the pretty cattle rancho of Capt.
Brown, leaving him only two minutes to
spare in his escape with his family from its
burning track then poured over high cliff
and went on its way to the sea at fifteen
miles an hour and extended the rocky shore
near the southern point of Hawaii far out in
to the sea and finding an old cave extending
under the water filled that and burst out
again forming an island farther out. Other
portions of the paper were equally interest
ing.
After the reading the speaker by request
explained his large map hanging against one
of the library cases; giving illustrations of
the points described. The harbors, towns
or settlements, plantations, volcanic craters,
the lava flows of various eruptions were
plainly traced on the map and pointed out
by the! speaker. Captain Cooks bay
where he was killed by the natives was
shown. The "Pearl river harbor," now of
so much interest and Importance was also
indicated, showing its fine land locked plac-
ing.
This harbor ard that of Honolulu are
about the only harbors worthy of the name
in this whole group. Mr.. Thomas R. Trow-
bridge gave his interesting account of Cap
tain Caleb Brintnall's (of this city, two IA
nous voyages to the islands. Judge Way
land also confirmed the accounts of the won
derful fertility of the soil and the dangerous
navigation of the waters. Seven tons of SUI
gar to the acre are produced easily and no
replanting, save at long intervals He has
seen sugar cane twenty-three feet high.
The sterling good sense and honesty of the
natives is remarkable, said Mr.. Cover, and
Christian missions have saved them, to a